LT39

An LT39 is a reminder the IRS is required by law to send about an overdue balance and any missing returns. If you're already working with the IRS on the account, the notice itself says no action is required.

“The law obliges us to remind you in writing: this balance is overdue, and these returns are missing. Pay by the due date, arrange payments, or file what's missing. If it stays unanswered, liens and garnishment become possible, and debt over the passport threshold can affect a passport.”

If a resolution is already in motion — an approved plan, a pending application — this letter changes nothing; the IRS says so on its page. If nothing is in motion, the printed due date is the moment to start one.

• The notice
• Payment-plan paperwork if one exists — this letter often crosses paths with an active plan
• Proof of payments and filings the IRS may not have posted yet
• Records for any years listed as unfiled

• Confirming whether the account is genuinely unresolved or the letter simply crossed an existing arrangement
• Standing up the right arrangement if none exists
• Hardship (currently-not-collectible) status where the numbers support it
• Watching the passport threshold on larger balances